Artwork by Veterans Seeks Hamptons Buyers & Donors

With the Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base right here in Westhampton Beach, the former Camp Hero in Montauk and Calverton National Cemetery to the north, it’s safe to say the East End and the U.S. military are deeply connected. While we often honor that connection with tributes and monuments to our veterans, including the fallen and those still standing, there’s a new program offering a chance to truly improve the lives of the Armed Forces’ most creative men and women.

Based in Decatur, Michigan, Artwork by Veterans is a project from the Armed Forces Foundation Art Institute — part of the Armed Forces Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charity — that is assembling a community of artists through these affiliated programs and building a powerful platform for U.S. military veterans to sell their artwork.

“Every artist needs some kind of platform, and that’s what we’re providing, a platform for artists,” explains attorney Matthew Cooper who started the program.

Cooper’s quest to help veterans began when he was inspired to assist a soldier who had been wronged by one of the world’s biggest banks, and that case, which drew national attention, ended with new congressional amendments to protect active-duty military.

“It all started for me when I represented Sgt. James Hurley and we sued Deutsche Bank and Saxon mortgage company for violation of Sgt. Hurley’s Servicemembers Civil Relief Act protection, that’s known as the SCRA,” Cooper says.

While Hurley was fighting for the U.S. Army in Iraq’s “Bloody Triangle” at the height of that war, Deutsche Bank illegally foreclosed on his home, Cooper says. “So I sued Deutsche Bank. We were in federal court for five years in the landmark SCRA case, and Congress amended the protections, and those amendments are named after Sgt. Hurley,” he continues, pointing out that the case was front-page news in The New York Times and was featured on CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, among many other outlets.

“It was big news because the rights and protections of the men and women serving in our military are very important,” Cooper adds, noting that he went on to litigate more SCRA cases, and he started a VA Disability Law Center to help veterans navigate the difficult path to securing disability for wartime injuries, both physical and mental. “I’ve become known for helping our active-duty military,” he says, describing what led him to begin supporting veteran artists.

“I started helping veterans, and what I noticed is we have a lot of veterans who are very artistic, and artwork is something good for them to do. It distracts them from their PTSD, it helps them with their disabilities, whether they’re physical or depression, just like any other artist,” Cooper says, adding later, “Even former President Bush got into artwork to help him draw his attention away from the stresses and strains that he had. Art helps people in a lot of ways like that.”

Artwork by Veterans has several prongs. First and foremost, it’s a way to connect veteran artists and artisans with people who would like to buy their wares, which in turn helps the vets emotionally and financially. All proceeds from sales go directly to the artist, and sales don’t even have to go through the program.

The website, artworkbyveterans.org, features gallery pages with various styles of work, from paintings to woodcraft and metalwork, as well as an artist directory with veteran and active-duty artists and their individual galleries, plus websites and contact info. Cooper’s client, Sgt. Hurley, for example, does custom hand etching on glass and wood, which can be seen on the site, or buyers can follow a link directly to a Facebook page for Hurley’s business, Razor’s Edge.

Cooper’s son, Bennett Cooper, who is an Airman in the Michigan Air National Guard and a full-time college student, has developed a range of beautiful handmade axes, tools and other crafts through his Great Lakes Axe Co., and he shows them on the Artwork by Veterans site. “It’s a combination of all my worlds,” he says of the program.

“Buy directly from the veteran and the veteran gets all of the money. How many nonprofits can say that, that all the money goes to the veterans? Don’t even go through us,” Cooper says, noting that money can also go through Artwork by Veterans. “Every donation goes straight to the Armed Forces Foundation to help fund the Artwork by Veterans program. Every penny directly supports our mission.”

In addition to showcasing veterans’ creations, Artwork by Veterans also accepts art donations from non-veterans, which they will then sell to support veteran programs. Among these programs, Cooper says he’s looking to buy land for creating sustainable art.

“We’re going to start an environmental program where, if we have guys who are veterans using walnut, we’re going to plant some walnut trees. If they like to use maple, we’ll plant maple trees,” he says. “We’re buying acreage. It’s almost like a horticulture program but we’re thinking of it more as an environmental practices program.”

Describing another example of the work his organization does, Cooper says he recently helped a Korean War veteran in his 90s get out to hunt turkey because he had not been physically able to reach his hunting blind on his own.

As for why Cooper brought Artwork by Veterans to the Hamptons of all places, he is hopeful our residents will apply some of their vast resources and interest in art to helping some very deserving people. “The Hamptons, I think, is a popular, artsy community. I want to hit artsy communities like Austin, Texas or Palm Springs. Or down in Tampa, St. Pete. Just different artsy communities I think would be interested in artwork, and art by veterans.” 

To learn more about Artwork by Veterans and their programs, or to buy or donate art, visit artworkbyveterans.org.

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